Saturday, November 26, 2011

Rainforest Fungus Makes Diesel Fuel

From Mongabay.com:
A fungus recently discovered in the Patagonian rainforest has shocked biologists and environmentalists: the fungus produces gas almost identical to diesel. In a paper announcing the discovery in Microbiology, scientists state that they believe the fungus, called Gliocladium roseum, could become an incredibly efficient green energy source.

"This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances," said Professor Gary Strobel from Montana State University.

Gliocladium roseum makes a variety of molecules of hydrogen and carbon like those found in diesel. The scientists have named Gliocladium roseu's fuel myco-diesel. The researchers found that when grown in a lab the fungus produced myco-diesel even closer to diesel used in cars...